Mr Zhang, who is 46, developed the company’s Singles’ Day promotion, which is the world’s biggest one-day online retail event.

Image copyrightAli BabaImage caption Daniel Zhang will take over from Mr Ma

Mr Zhang will become executive chairman on 10 September 2019, the company said in a statement.

The one year handover period is aimed at achieving a “smooth and successful transition”.

Mr Ma, previously an English teacher, co-founded Alibaba in 1999 and has seen it become one of the world’s biggest internet companies.

“Teachers always want their students to exceed them, so the responsible thing to do for me and the company to do is to let younger, more talented people take over in leadership roles,” Mr Ma said in the letter, released on his 54th birthday.

‘Superb talent’

Mr Ma, who has a current net worth of $36.6bn (£28.34bn), will remain a director on Alibaba’s board until its annual shareholder meeting in 2020. He is a permanent member of the Alibaba Partnership.

The charismatic Mr Ma, who is known for dressing like a rock star, said he wanted to return to education.

“The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new things,” Mr Ma said, adding he plans to continue in his role as founding partner.

“The one thing I can promise everyone is this: Alibaba was never about Jack Ma, but Jack Ma will forever belong to Alibaba.”

He said Mr Zhang, who has been with Alibaba for 11 years, had demonstrated “superb talent” since taking over as chief executive.

Alibaba listed in New York in 2014 in what was then the world’s biggest initial public offering of shares.